The symbolism of water really touches me and sets me off into a vision. The necessary turbulence alternating with calm seas, with ebb and flow and hopefully landing on a quiet peaceful shore. It came to me how, when sailing ships were ‘becalmed’, though for a little while it was good for the sailors to rest, it was then a difficulty – no movement, loss if time, spoiling of cargo, running out of food and water. And I thought of how that equates to life. Having steady progress is what we might all hope for, but times of becalming and times of turbulence are natural. For me creating flow in all aspects of life is my goal, and yet, when I stop to meditate, I create a calm in which I can rest and let things happen without any input from me, then move once again out into the turbulence if that’s what the Divine has served me right now.
I’m also with just how exhausting the turbulence can be is we can’t escape from it for a while. And what it does to our levels of stress hormones, our emotions, our capacity to relax and allow our bodies -and our souls – to heal. And as I’m preparing for Cyprus, I’m thinking of what it must feel like to be on alert for so many years. To be constantly having to defend, or feel under attack, or grieve and wander still looking for lost children, lost sons and daughters, lost homes. To be unable to let go and feel what it’s like to trust and be trusted and nestle into the security of peace. And so many people around the world do live under such conditions year after year, until that becomes the norm. How courageous to be living such a path, a soul’s choice in this lifetime, and how I want to learn from that so that no one needs to continue to teach me about it.
I was also thinking about my little girl self and how she still feels that emotion when issues of my childhood surface. How do children who grew into adults and are now perhaps middle aged and have never escaped the chaos feel? How can we expect the adults to be at peace when the wounded children have never had time, often not even a day of peace, in which to recover? How can we help sooth those inner children so that the adult hearts can start to trust again, to love again, to feel again, to hope again?
I am going to Cyprus next week and Maria and the team are making many preparations for yet another chance of peace, even though there have been so many other attempts that their hearts must be exhausted. How easy it would be to just give up with the whole idea that yet someone else could come and try to make a difference and instead resign themselves to hopelessness. And I then look at my own arrogance in thinking that I will try and maybe, just maybe will help. And then your image of water comes again and I feel a swell of hope, a tide of courage from all of those involved who, despite their pain and their loss. They are still standing and still trying, and I love them with all my heart.
So let’s hope that each of us can find some inner peace in the midst of the turbulence in the world and add that little drop to help calm the stormy ocean. I would love it if next week you breathe with me, feel with me, love with me, find peace with me and cherish all of those who are in pain but still trying… and not only in Cyprus of course, but all around the world. I feel very humbled and endlessly grateful.
Much love
Brenda